A CONTEST! | LYYP Pic of the Year 2014

Hey guys!  It’s time to play the music! It’s time to light the lights!  It’s time to see the contestants for the LYYP Pic of the Year tonight!  (Sung to the tune of The Muppet Show theme, of course.  In case that wasn’t obvious).

Last year’s contest was such a success that I’ve decided to make it a tradition.  And if YOU had a session (or two or three) with me in 2014, you’re now officially part of this year’s tradition.  So, let’s get this party started!

I’ve selected ONE image from each of the 70 plus sessions I had in 2014.  (Can you even begin to fathom how hard that was?  Don’t even get me started).  You can see a larger version of each image in this official LYYP POY 2014 Facebook Gallery.

Round One

To vote in round one, all you’ve got to do is “like” your favorite image(s) in the official LYYP POY 2014 Facebook gallery.  You can vote for more than one image, but you can only vote ONE time.  That means that in order to make the final round, you’ll want to recruit your people to rally for the cause!  The more people you get to vote for your image, the better chance you have to become a finalist.  Voting for round one ends at midnight on January 26th and EVERY person that votes is entered in a drawing for $50 toward an LYYP session. There will be TWELVE finalists advancing to round two — the 10 photos with the highest number of votes, one chosen by a panel of professional photographer judges, and one chosen by me.

Round Two

The final round of voting — on the twelve finalists — begins on Tuesday, January 27th.  To spice things up in the finals, there will be THREE ways to vote:

1. By “liking” the image on the official LYYP POY 2014 Finalist Facebook gallery;

2. By “liking” the image on Instagram (you’ll search #LYYP2014 to see the finalists on my Instagram page when the time comes); or

3. By voting here on the blog in an online poll.

Winners

There will be FOUR winners this year!

1.  The winner with the the highest number of combined votes from these three sources wins the GRAND PRIZE of a $250 gift certificate for use toward any LYYP session in 2015 AND the prestigious title of the “LYYP Pic of the Year” for 2014.  (Can’t you just taste it???)

2.  Two runners up each will win a $100 gift certificate toward any LYYP session in 2015.  The first runner up will be the contestant with second highest number of combined votes from the blog, instagram and facebook.  A SECOND runner up will be chosen by ME with the help of my panel of professional photographers.

3.  ONE random VOTER in the final round will receive a $50 gift certificate toward any LYYP session in 2015!  (Just leave a comment on the final round blog post letting me know you’ve voted and why you’d like an LYYP session).

Winning Strategies

I know you want to win this, and I’m telling you right now that you can’t do it alone.  In order to advance to the final round of voting, you’ll have to call in reinforcements.  It’s easy.  I’ll even give you a sample email/text/facebook post/phone script to send along to your friends to make it super easy.  Just copy, paste, edit and send:

“Dear [friend/neighbor/colleague/Mom],  Hope you are [well/feeling better/doing great] Would you please do me a favor?  I’m a contestant in the Pic of the Year Contest over at The Life in Your Years Photography with Jaye McLaughlin.  (Do you know Jaye?  She’s [totally awesome/kinda cool/a complete dork].  You should check out her site!)  Please take a quick sec and go to THE OFFICIAL CONTEST PAGE.  Click on the link for the official LYYP POY 2014 Gallery and “like” the photo of [me/my family/my kids/my dog/my kid’s stuffed animals].  You should browse through and vote for some of the other contestants while you’re there — they’re [really fun/incredibly gorgeous/no competition at all].  If you do this for me and I win, I’ll definitely [buy you a drink/give you a hug/forgive that $500 debt you owe me].  Thanks a bunch!  Love, [Me]

You can also share this post on Facebook if that’s more your speed.  Or do both.  Your choice.   Depends how badly you want it, really.

Fine Print:

• Round One voting will continue until the end of the day on Thursday, January 26th.
• Finalists will be announced on the blog and Round Two voting will begin on January 27th. Voting will continue until Thursday, February 5th.
• I will announce the winners on my blog on Friday, February 6th.
• Sessions must be scheduled by November 13, 2015 and are subject to availability.
• Please keep things fair and vote only for one image – IP addresses will be monitored.
• I reserve the right to disqualify entries or terminate/modify contest if necessary.

So, right now, you need to vote, and get your friends voting, so that you make the finals! (Need that link again? It’s RIGHT HERE!)

Have fun, and good luck!

~Jaye